Whale Carcass Leads To Closures at Glacier Bay National Park

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 13, 2011 - 1:03am

These Park Service maps show where the remains of a whale have washed ashore and forced the temporary closure of the area to humans.

When was the last time you had to reroute your hike because of a whale carcass? That's the situation at Glacier Bay National Park, where the remains of a humpback whale have come ashore and turned into a magnet for bears and other scavengers.

The remains were floating about the Scidmore Cut area in 2010, and recently washed ashore north of the Geikie Inlet, according to park officials. Park Service employees are monitoring the remains, and the bears gorging themselves on it, to determine when the shoreline can be reopened to hikers and overnight camping.

Park officials point out that not only is it a crime to disturb wildlife, and that boaters should avoid getting so close to the shore that the scavengers alter their behavior, but also note that it's a crime to remove whale bones under the National Park Service and Endangered Species Act regulations.

Comments

Submitted by Barky on May 13, 2011 - 3:59pm.

Ha! I had to read this three times. I couldn't figure out how a whale carcass got to Glacier National Park. :-)

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 13, 2011 - 5:30pm.

Had me there for a minute, Barky. Thought my fingers might not have finished the command from the brain....;-)

Submitted by Marvin Gardens (not verified) on May 13, 2011 - 6:17pm.

Wow! It's already 40 years since a dead whale made history in Oregon: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3452956983704611273#

Post new comment

All viewpoints, as long as they're constructive, are allowed on the site. But ... the Traveler is not a catchall for viewpoints and discussions that fall outside of the parks or the post at hand. In monitoring comments, we try to restrict those to the topic at hand. Refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.